Unashamed, gleeful gluttony is what I most admire about Gizzi Erskine, with her celebration of the sheer joys of cooking and eating. To be honest I got a bit downhearted at the introduction to this latest book, a polemic on how to be a responsible food consumer in the face of the environmental vandalism wreaked by modern agriculture, climate change and rampant consumerism. Her message is not new; eat more sustainably (so less meat and value every part of the animal), create less food waste, become better informed and buy local (this last does give the book a UK slant). She’s right to be concerned but can an earnest sustainability lens coexist with joie de vivre to give a cracking cookbook? Well, yes… and no. And the no comes not from a reductive ‘can’t do this, don’t eat that’ angle, but more from a somewhat lacklustre selection of some recipes: roasted vegetables, fruit crumble and ratatouille don’t add much to the lexicon, however cute the presentation. But I’m genuinely excited by goat ragù, sour orange fish curry, parsnips boulangère with the traditional stock and fat replaced with miso and oat cream and a chilli con pesce made using fish scraps. So skip the lectures if you feel a bit browbeaten and head straight to the gutsy and endearing food. TRACY WHITMEY